


Right for the Heartstrings

by AssistedRealityInterface



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Relationship Problems
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-03
Updated: 2014-01-03
Packaged: 2018-01-07 08:02:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1117477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AssistedRealityInterface/pseuds/AssistedRealityInterface
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grant wears his heart on his sleeve. Melinda wounds him deep, but he's always been good at bearing scars. He's willing to wait for as long as it takes for Melinda to become comfortable with the bond between the two of them. He keeps his distance while he does, but it doesn't mean he loves her any less, as she quickly finds out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Right for the Heartstrings

**Author's Note:**

> I've developed this god awful habit of sitting on a work for like weeks at a time because I procrastinate putting it up when it's a oneshot for some reason. I guess the need to tag and organize and label characters and so on and so forth?  
> At any rate, this is sort of a re-take of the way I'd written their relationship prior to episodes 9 and 10. I just think Melinda doesn't really want to be emotionally available, but Grant takes physical gestures as declarations of love, and so they've been sending one another mixed messages the entire time.  
> Except they really are in love because no you cannot take my OTP from me.  
> So here you go, 10k of fluff and porn and angst. Enjoy!

Ward woke up to an empty bed and sighed, pressing Melinda’s pillow close and breathing in her scent.

She had to pilot the plane, he told himself as he awoke and dressed, throwing on a tee shirt and jeans and pulling on socks. She was busy. She was a brave, busy lady, and he couldn’t get in her way. He wouldn’t. That wasn’t why he had…

He sighed. Couldn’t really call what they were ‘dating’ yet. They hadn’t had time to touch down and get some leave since this had started between them. He wanted to find her a place wherever they might land and take her out to dinner and walk her back to her bedroom before he called it dating.

She certainly didn’t. She had stroked his hair once after she’d kissed him and told him to relax when he stroked her hair and tried to hold her close. He’d traced a heart into her skin when he’d kissed his way down her stomach and she’d laughed at him. Every time he asked her about her past—or even her future, off the team or not—she fell silent, and he might as well have been speaking to stone.

He looked ruefully at the pair of pants hanging over the lamp and shook his head, exhaling through his teeth. He might’ve put the cart before the horse on this, all things considered, but it was hardly his fault.

She was a hurricane. A very selective hurricane. And he was caught in her storm without a care in the world.

He smiled at the thought of her, squeezing her pillow tighter than he would ever hug her before getting up and making his way to the cockpit.

He settled into the seat next to her with two cups of coffee and set one down wordlessly beside her. She didn’t say anything, but he didn’t mind; he sipped his coffee and chewed on his bagel, leaving one next to her with a soft sigh.

“You woke up all right?” Melinda asked. Ward shrugged.

“I guess, yeah,” he said. “Little late.”

“You were,” she said shortly. Ward nodded, shoulders hunched.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Missed you. Your pillow smells nice. Like lavender and rose petals.”

“Do you have anything you need from me, Agent Ward?” she asked. Ward’s stomach soured. He was used to this, he understood, he did, it still hurt so _much—_

“Um, no,” he said. “I just wanted to stay up here with you. I don’t need anything from you, Melinda. I just—I just like having you around.”

“You have training to do,” she said. “You need to stay safe on the field. You need to be in peak physical condition.”

Something dark stole over her eyes; something Ward barely saw as more than a flicker.

“Besides,” she said shortly, “Skye needs her SO working with her today, doesn’t she?”

“Melinda, I don’t…”

Ward sighed and rubbed his temples.

“Okay,” he said. “Okay.”

He got up and left the cockpit, pausing at the door.

“Melinda?” he said at the threshold. She bit back a curse and sighed.

“Yes, Grant?” she said. Ward flinched at her tone, but pressed on regardless.

“I know it’s only been a few months,” he said. “And I know you’re not the type to wear your heart on your sleeve. I get it. But, uh…I guess I am. Just a little bit. When it comes to you, anyway. So, Melinda—“

“Don’t,” she said, and the curses bubbled up in her mouth again at the catch in her throat. “Ward—“

“I love you,” he said. “I just thought you should know. I love you more than anything, Melinda. Skye included. So please…don’t, uh…don’t worry about anything. I love you.”

She was silent for a long few minutes.

“I wasn’t worried,” she said. “Go.”

Ward nodded and left without another word.

Melinda waited until she had heard his footsteps disappear around the hall to remove her hands from the controls and bury her head between them.

…

“Ward? You look like someone shot you on the way here,” Skye said, looking up from her card game with Leo and Jemma. “Something wrong?”

“No,” Ward said, sighing. “I, uh—you three won’t gossip?”

“Where are we going to gossip five hundred miles in the air?” Jemma said with a smile. “What is it, dear?”

He relaxed at her soft tone and managed a little smile in response. “I told Melinda I loved her.”

“Hey, cool!” Skye said, getting to her feet as she pulled on her gloves, flexing her fingers and curling them into a fist. “You two were really bad at being subtle, anyway. Well, you were. I wouldn’t have known if you weren’t the worst poker face I’ve ever seen.”

“I don’t need lip from you today, brat,” Ward grumbled. Skye just smiled.

“So how come you’re here and not making good on that whole declaration of passion?” she teased. Ward rubbed his temples.

“She’s busy,” he murmured. “She needs to fly the plane. And it’s all right, I’m all right, I’m all right…”

“Ward?” Jemma said, head cocked. “Ward, dear, what’s the matter?”

“Nothing. I’m all right,” he promised them as they watched him, wide-eyed and worried. “Skye, we need to go over some exercises. Leo, Jemma, you’re welcome to stay.”

They shared a glance before Leo nodded. “Ah, yeah. We’ll stay, Grant. Cards after?”

“Sure thing,” he said, pounding his fists into the bag and showing Skye how to punch properly, trying to fall into a rhythm that didn’t remind him of the pulse of Melinda’s heartbeat against his skin when they laid together.

…

He came to her room that night to find it locked.

Ward cocked his head and frowned, knocking on the door. “Melinda? Hey, Melinda? I’m back. Are you sleeping?”

There was no response.

Ward swallowed, his chest tight. “Melinda? Melinda, hey…”

Still no reply.

“Okay,” he said. “If you’re asleep, that’s okay. You were busy today. See you later, okay? I love you so much.”

He pressed a quick kiss to his fingertips and blew it off towards the door; it felt silly, but he went back to his room with a certainty on his mind that it would be the closest he’d get tonight to touching her.

He awoke the next morning to a note.

He dressed and prepared himself for the day, brushing his teeth and washing his hair and doing everything he could possibly do before he finally sank down with a defeated, grim sigh, and opened the note.

“ _I’m not the person you think I am. And I’m certainly not someone you can fall in love with. Don’t bother. I’m not going to.”_

Ward read the note quietly once, then another two times.

He crumpled it in his fist without a word and stood up, tossing it aside and making his way to the kitchen for breakfast.

“Ward?” Phil asked as he walked in, making a cup of coffee quietly. “You’re only making one today. What’s the matter?”

“I wish I knew,” he said, his voice soft. “But I’m not gonna stop until I find out.”

Phil watched him make breakfast without a word, letting him leave before he sighed and rubbed his temples.

“I’m going to kill her,” he muttered, standing up and leaving for the cockpit.

He pushed on the door and opened it, striding in and crossing his arms over his chest with a sigh.

“Out,” Melinda said without even looking at him.

“If you really think you’re helping either him or yourself by doing this—“

“I said out, Phil,” she repeated, her voice dropping until it froze the room solid. Phil licked his lips and clenched his jaw, weighing his options.

“No,” he said. “I respect your boundaries, Mel, but not when you’re using them to lock yourself away. He loves you like you bring up the sun every morning, and you’re just—“

“I’m just keeping him safe,” she said. “And not letting him get involved in something over his head. I thought you’d be all right with that, seeing as he’s under your command.”

“You’re being an idiot is what you’re doing, and I’ve known you for twenty years, I get to call you that,” Phil said. “Before you get a mind to stab me, I mean.”

“Phil, get out.”

“No,” Phil said. “Not until you tell me why. Because god knows you’ll never give him any explanation.”

“Because he’s better off,” Melinda said. “And so am I.”

Phil paused for a second and smiled, soft and aching and wan.

“No you’re not,” he said. “And neither is he. No matter what you tell yourself to think.”

She threw a knife at him. It embedded itself far enough away from the door threshold that he knew it was a deliberate miss.

Still, he excused himself with a soft smile and a nod. He considered it a mark of their friendship that she only waited for the door to close between them to let out a strangled, furious sob.

He walked down the hall and sighed. They both had their delusions as of late.

…

No one saw Ward for the rest of the day. Then the day after that. Then, two days later, he was around like nothing had happened, talking and joking and smiling and acting normal as they settled in to play Go Fish together.

Melinda went to her room that night and a rose lay at the floor before the door. For a second, she wrinkled her nose at the inevitable withering before she realized it caught the light like metal.

She lifted it up and unwrapped the red petals to realize there was chocolate beneath.

She rolled her eyes and threw it in the trash the second she entered her room, climbing under the covers and going to sleep.

Her dreams were fitful; grey and terrible and full of fire, awful gaping maws of burning buildings and bubbling flesh, fat popping and bones rattling, charred and splintered. Marrow leaked from their tips. When she touched it, it screamed.

Melinda awoke with a start and went to grab for the warm, solid mass of Ward’s broad shoulders, bury herself in his neck and inhale the sweet spice of his aftershave while she tried to steady her breathing and he held her close, saying nothing and letting her re-orient herself in peace.

Her fingers fell upon the pillow he had used and she clung to it, the faintest echoes of him still there. They would fade, in time. Hopefully, her desire for them to stay would fade along with it.

Ward awoke the next morning unaware of what had transpired in Melinda’s bed the night before. He brought her a cup of coffee and a bagel in the cockpit with a wordless smile. She didn’t so much as glance his way, even when he got up and headed to the door.

“How’s Skye?” she asked as he went for the door handle.

“It’s not Skye I’m concerned with,” was all he said before he left.

“You should be,” she spoke to the silent room. “You would be better off.”

A pause.

“I don’t care.”

She jumped, turning around and staring at the door. It was only then she heard him actually walk away.

Melinda sighed and rubbed her temples, trying to push back a headache. It was like trying to push back the tides with a stick.

“太空所有的星球塞盡我的屁股,” she muttered, puckering her lips and biting the soft swell of her lower lip until it felt like copper, warm and yielding in her mouth.

…

“Ward! What’s up?” Skye said as the agent entered the main room of the Bus. Jemma and Leo sat with a shared book on their laps, two cups of tea steaming delicately before them. Skye was sprawled over the couch, her head in Jemma’s lap and her arm stretched out over Fitz’s lap, a can of grape soda fizzling quietly in contentment next to the tea.

“You’re not in love with me, are you?” he asked, sitting down across from them. Skye cocked her head.

“Ew, what? No,” she said. “No, god no. I couldn’t do it, Ward. It’d be like screwing my big brother.”

“Ecch, but…I’m honored,” he murmured. “Thanks, Skye. For the big brother thing. Not, the, uh.”

“I know what you mean,” she said with a smile. “Relax. What’s the problem? Is Melinda jealous?”

“What? No. I don’t know. Maybe? Or not. I—“ Ward swallowed. “Melinda and I, we—“

He paused. He didn’t know how to say it. Didn’t want to say it.

“There was nothing there, I guess,” he whispered. “So I guess we never even broke up…”

Skye sat upright, knocking the book out of Jemma’s lap as she stared at Ward, wide-eyed.

“What? No! What the fuck,” Skye said. “You made her smile! Like, _really_ smile, not that cocky little ‘I’m going to beat you to death with your own spine’ half-smirk she gets sometimes. Like…what? No. No no no.”

“She just…broke up with you?” Jemma said, moving the book so Skye could inch herself across the two scientists more comfortably as they talked. “Like, an actual breaking off, or…”

“No,” Ward said. “No. Just a note. That I shouldn’t fall in love with her.”

He snorted and shrugged his shoulders, tossing his head and looking away. They all saw the tears glimmering in his eyes.

“It’s a little late,” he murmured. “A little too late. And she just…and I just…”

He sighed and rubbed at his eyes. “She never really liked it when I got emotional. Even a bit. She didn’t want to think about this maybe lasting, or…or anything. She didn’t want to think about me. Or, more to the point, me and her. Or how I loved her. I—“

He paused, his eyes widening. Everyone else looked at each other, then back at Ward.

“That night,” Fitz said, “a couple of days ago? When you said you loved her, did you really say it? Like, in so many words?”

“Yes I did,” Ward said. “As honest and open as I could be about it. And—and I guess that’s when I lost her.”

He buried his head in his hands and pressed the heel of his palms into his eyes in the hopes it would stave off his tears. It worked, for the time being.

“Ward, darling,” Jemma said gently, reaching across the table to put a hand on his shoulder. “Perhaps it’s not worth it, then. If she doesn’t want to value your emotions, you can’t make her—“

“ _No_ ,” Ward said, his voice sharp and firm. “No. She’s worth it. She’s worth all this. More than this. More than me, even, probably, but I thought I was so lucky, she was so _beautiful,_ and—and…”

He didn’t even bother trying to push back the tears. The flood came, unbidden and awful, obscuring his sight and making his face burn.

“She said to let her in, to let her help—and, and I was so _glad,_ but then she didn’t let me do the same, and—and all I want to do is be there for her too, and she won’t let me, and I can’t—“

He sniffled and rubbed his eyes, trying to stop. Skye got up and came to sit next to him, hugging him tight. He hugged her back with one shaking arm, laying his head on top of hers.

“I miss sleeping in her bed,” he murmured. “S’stupid. It’s only been half a week. I miss it. I miss her. I miss her more than anything. I don’t—I mean, I’ve never had a lot…and it was her, then. All of a sudden, I had her, and—I don’t think I ever did, I guess? Not really. Sorry. Sorry. This doesn’t make any sense. I’m sorry.”

“Ssh, it’s fine,” she said. “Relax. You’re not supposed to make sense when you get fucked up, right?”

“Right,” Ward agreed with a little laugh. “Sorry. But—yeah. I guess I didn’t ever really have her, but I hoped, maybe, and—and now…now I don’t even have hope she might ever really love me back. And—and it hurts so much, Skye. I want her back. She was like the sun.”

“Bright and cheerful? _Melinda?”_ Skye said with a snort. Ward rolled his eyes.

“No—well, yes, if you were…if you stroked her hair and kissed her forehead and knew what to say,” he said with a soft smile and a shrug. “But—but she was my life. And she kept me safe.”

He shook his head. “I worked so hard to protect myself ever since I got to the academy, and…I saved myself, I did. But she made sure I never had to worry about going back again. She made me feel like I’d really moved on from, uh…everything from before,” Ward explained, rubbing his eyes. “Yeah?”

Skye nodded, trying not to cry herself. “Yeah. No, I…I get you, Ward. Do you wanna…y’know, hang with us tonight?”

“It’d be really nice,” he murmured. “Please.”

“I’ll go get more popcorn, then,” she said, getting up and letting Jemma and Leo come and sit beside Ward, his stalwart guardians that snuggled him firmly into the couch.

“Was I actually going to get a choice about staying here tonight?” he asked.

Jemma and Leo shook their heads, laying them on his shoulder with twin sighs of contentment. Ward rolled his eyes and stroked their hair, threading his fingers through Fitz’s little curls before taking a chunk of Jemma’s hair and idly braiding it.

Skye left the main room of the Bus and bumped right into Melinda outside the door. She puffed up, the angry retorts already brewing on her lips.

They deflated and died the second she saw the glimmer of tears on the other woman’s face in the low light.

“He doesn’t want me,” she finally said. “He just wants you. All of you. Even the parts you think he can’t love. Because I promise you, he’s got parts in him he thinks no one could ever love, too. And—and if you can’t prove him wrong about that, then stay away. We’ll be there for him where you can’t. But…I dunno, Melinda. I think you’re better than that.”

“You don’t know me either,” she said, her voice sharp and venomous. Skye snorted.

“I know what I gotta know to make a few snap judgments,” she said. “One of which is that you need him like he needs you, and you two work better together. So why fight it? Why does it hurt you so much that he loves you?”

“Because it isn’t safe for him,” Melinda said, folding her arms over her chest. “No matter what he says. It isn’t safe for him to love me. I don’t want to hurt him.”

“He just cried in front of us,” Skye said. “He doesn’t cry. Never _ever_. And he wouldn’t cry in front of _us,_ the people he feels like he has to protect all the time, if he wasn’t really hurting.”

She pointed at the other woman accusingly. “So congrats, Melinda. You hurt him already. And maybe you’ll be smart and not let your stupid pride keep you from fixing it. But I dunno. I’m not a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. You guys have a lot of that, I figure.”

Skye moved around her and went to head for the kitchens. Before she shut the door between them, she turned around and regarded Melinda one last time.

“He’ll wait for you as long as he lives, I think,” she said. “Don’t make him wait that long. Either break it off or don’t. But don’t delude yourself that something like _this_ is better.”

Melinda stared at the other woman for a few minutes.

“Talk to me like that again, brat, and I’ll throw you out the airlock,” she finally said.

“You sound just like him,” Skye said. Her smile was fond and sad. “C’mon, Melinda. I want you to be happy too. So does everyone else. Get with the program, okay?”

“You can’t tell me how to live my life to your standards—“

Melinda sighed as the door closed between them.

“Airlock. Right,” she said with a huff, turning on her heel and going to leave. Before she did, she caught sight of Ward, sitting on the couch with his legs crossed and his head tilted back. He looked relaxed, all save for his expression. She knew what that tightness in his jaw meant, and the shine of tears still glimmered on his cheeks.

“Damn,” she murmured, going another way back to her bedroom for the night.

She stopped at her door again when she found a small toy sitting at the threshold; it was a soft little tiger, like the one she had mentioned owning as a girl. It had been an offhand remark months ago.

She picked it up and read the card attached to its paw.

‘ _Happy three-month anniversary. I know it doesn’t count for much anymore, but I got this little guy awhile back and I was going to give him to you anyway. He doesn’t like my room, I think. He’d be happier in yours.’_

Melinda crumpled the note and flung it so far down the hall she didn’t see where it landed, slamming her door so hard the hinges rattled as she threw the tiger against her wall, her hands shaking.

She woke up again that night with nightmares. The last violent flash of imagery she remembered was a tiger digging deep into Ward’s chest, ripping it apart and snapping his ribs, reaching in and pulling out his heart before dropping it before her like a satisfied cat.

She hugged the tiger tight to her chest the rest of the night, but not before spending an hour in the shower, trying to purge the image from her thoughts by virtue of the burn.

…

The next week was slow; paperwork and cleaning, by and large. Phil had sensed everyone needed a break without quite having to be told, but halfway through the second week of it, he dropped a mission file on the table in the middle of breakfast.

“Urgent,” he said with a sigh. “Sorry, guys, but we’re shipping out to New York.”

“New York? Really?” Skye said, giving him a huge grin. Phil smiled.

“Not for the reasons you’re getting all starry-eyed for,” he said. “We’re going to handle…well, two things. The Avengers need me again, so I’ll be splitting my time between you and them—which means when I’m not here, Melinda’s in charge.”

They all nodded, thoroughly unsurprised. Phil relaxed. “Okay. So, there’s rumors going around that someone’s been mixing something new into the general flow of drugs that goes into Bushwick. We analyzed a sample our labs managed to procure, and the results aren’t entirely conclusive, but the ingredients are of foreign origin—more specifically, Norway. The last place HYDRA’s base was stationed. And with their new push towards trying to gain followers in the 21st century, Fury’s certain they’ve got something to do with it.”

He gestured to all of them. “So. Jemma, Leo, I want you looking at the sample and trying to cull anything else you possibly can out of it. Skye, you’re the only one of this group who could pass for a club-goer. Wear something nice and work undercover.”

“You don’t look nice at parties like this, you look like trash,” she said. “Sexy trash.”

“Wear whatever the kids are wearing these days, then,” he said mildly. “Ward? Melinda? Backup. I want you on the roof together. Comms on in case Skye needs you, and rifles trained on the club.”

“Sir, do we really need two snipers—“

“One of you is going to have tranqs in case of any HYDRA agents trying to pull the human shield gambit. The other of you is going to have bullets, in case we actually come across HYDRA agents. Melinda, bullets. Ward, tranqs. Unless you want to swap?”

“I can take bullets—“

“I’ll do it,” she said, her voice quiet and firm.

Ward fell silent and nodded. Phil’s eyes softened as their gazes met.

“All right,” he murmured. “Then you two stay safe. Skye, call them the second there’s a problem. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“I’ll be fine, AC, just go see your team,” she said. “Miss them?”

“More than anything,” he said with a sigh and a smile. “When we touch down, right to Bushwick. Understood?”

“Got it,” Skye said. “I’ll go get dressed.”

She finished her coffee and left, Jemma and Leo following her out with Phil to get the drug sample. Ward and Melinda remained, only realizing then that they’d still been sitting next to each other.

“I’ll keep you safe, Melinda,” he murmured, standing up. “Promise.”

“You don’t need to,” she said, her voice sharper than she’d intended. It hurt to watch him flinch. “I can take care of myself.”

 _It’s kind of too late to worry about hurting him_ now _, isn’t it?_

The little accusatory voice in her head sounded an awful lot like Skye, and she couldn’t help but hate the girl for that.

“It’s not about whether you can,” Ward murmured. “It’s about whether I want to.”

He got up and left, like leaving quickly would keep her from noticing how his hands shook or his shoulders were hunched.

She sighed and finished her coffee, muttering a soft curse under her breath as she stood up and left, shaking her head.

…

The night was long, boring, and silent. Ward sat perched on the roof drinking a cup of coffee; Melinda paced like a caged tiger, tossing her head every so often and glaring out over the skyline like it had done something to offend her.

Skye left the warehouse party at six in the morning and looked up at them with a defeated shrug.

“ _Nothing,”_ her voice said over the comm. “ _I mean, some cute guys, but they’re irrelevant. I’m taken and they’re desperate. So, anything on your end?”_

“Nothing,” Ward said. “I mean, unless—“

He and Melinda both looked up at the sound of helicopter blades slicing the air; as a black helicopter touched down on the ground, a skull with tentacles splayed out behind it spraypainted on the side, Ward threw an arm in front of Melinda as he drew his gun.

“No,” he said, shaking his head as he moved entirely in front of Melinda. “Oh, hell no.”

“Skye?” he called. “We, ah, might’ve run into some trouble. HYDRA’s here.”

“ _Do you need me to get Phil? I can go get Phil!”_

“We’ll be fine,” Ward said just as the helicopter door opened and five HYDRA agents swarmed them. “Okay, we’ll be _decent,_ just get out of there—“

_“Ward!”_

He ignored her and drew his gun, pointing it at the men. “Okay, back off and leave her be, and I’ll refrain from killing you.”

“HYDRA agents commit suicide if they’re captured,” Melinda remarked. Ward shrugged, switching from his gun to his rifle.

“Not if they’re tranq’d,” he said. “I can _handle this_ , Melinda, _go_ —“

“I’m not leaving you either,” she said, her voice firm as she picked up her rifle. “Get behind me.”

One of the men said something in German; Ward snapped back with a growl and a few choice curses. The men laughed, one of them pointing a gun at his face. Ward ducked the bullet and fired off a tranquilizer, striking him in the throat.

He smiled, pleased, and stood up to fire off another bullet at the men; before he could draw his gun, they swarmed and pinned him.

The four remaining agents tackled him to the ground and wrested the tranq gun from his hands in the struggle; Ward snarled and sank his teeth into one of the hands holding him, but by the time he did, it was too late.

One of them held the gun at Melinda’s head and fired; Ward screamed and slammed his fist into the face closest to him, feeling the crunch of flesh and grinning with savage triumph as he threw the rest of the men off of him, giving him a second to bolt to her side before they drew their guns.

“Melinda? Melinda, it’s okay, it was just a tranq—“

“Ward, I know, I’m fine,” she murmured. “Relax, relax, go get them, get my rifle, they’ve still got guns—“

“I’m not gonna leave you,” he murmured, hanging onto her and lifting her up, carrying her in one arm as he scrambled for her rifle. “Melinda, it’s okay, it’s okay—“

“Ward, _Grant,_ _gun—“_

He turned around and kicked the HYDRA agent behind him in the face as he bowed back and grabbed Melinda’s rifle. He set her down gently and kissed her forehead.

“Ah, sorry,” he said, shaking his head.

He brandished the rifle as they charged; he slammed one of the three remaining agents in the face with the rifle and used it to throw them off the building roof, twisting his body and bowing to cover Melinda, leaving his side vulnerable.

Melinda could barely see through the tranqs blurring her vision, but she watched the gun move and her heart leapt in terror.

“Grant,” she cried as loud as her numb mouth would allow, “Grant, _gun—“_

“I’ve got you,” he said, standing up just in time for the bullet to strike him in the chest. “It’s okay, I’ve got you, I’m fine—“

She wanted to curse at him for being an idiot and putting himself in danger. She wanted to shout at him for fighting injured as he finished off the last two agents with a blood-covered arm holding his trembling gun.

She wanted to tell him she was sorry as he stroked her hair away from her face and lifted her up. She wanted to tell him she loved him as he picked her up and held her close with his good arm, kissing her forehead as he spoke to Skye on the comm, directing her to get Jemma and Leo to their location with the bus.

Before she could open her mouth and say anything at all, the drugs overtook her in a wave, dragging her down into a heavy, suffocating sleep.

This time, there were no dreams.

…

Melinda awoke to white, thoroughly unsurprised at the blinding light that made her wince and squint as she sat up. She looked around and sighed. S.H.I.E.L.D. medbay. All of them looked the same.

“Are we on the Helicarrier or the Bus?” she asked, eyes closed. She heard the shift of soft slacks beside her; Phil.

“Bus,” he said, squeezing her hand. “Don’t worry. The kids all took turns piloting. It was a great learning experience for them.”

“I’m surprised we haven’t crashed and died,” she said with a soft laugh. Phil grinned.

“Yeah,” he said. “We came close a few times.”

He squeezed her hand tighter. “I don’t think any of us know what we’d do without you, Melinda.”

She opened her eyes in time to watch him stand up, going for the door. “Him especially.”

Melinda turned her head to see Ward slumped in a cramped, tiny little plastic seat. Someone had thrown a blanket over him as he slept; judging by the hot pink color and the cartoon cats on top of it, it had to be Skye.

“How long was I out after treatment?” Melinda asked as Phil opened the door. Phil shrugged, checking the clock.

“Ah, about fifteen hours? We sedated you again so I could suture a few wounds you picked up in the scuffle,” he said. Melinda nodded, gesturing to Ward.

“And how long has he been here?” she asked.

Phil smiled, shaking his head.

“Do you really even need to ask?” he said, turning around and shutting the door, leaving them be.

Melinda watched Ward as he slept, his shoulders hunched and shivering every so often. She could see bruises mottling one side of his face, and his jaw had a cut on it. His breathing was labored and slow as he clung to himself in his sleep.

Her heart ached as she reached out to cup his cheek. Her fingers barely brushed his skin before he stirred, looking up at her and smiling, nuzzling into her touch.

“Hey,” he whispered.

“Hey yourself,” she whispered back. “You got shot.”

“Stitched up,” he said absently. “S’fine. I’m fine. Here for you.”

”You could have a concussion,” she admonished him. “You shouldn’t be sleeping.”

“Jemmy checked,” Ward mumbled, shaking his head. “M’fine. You?”

“Better,” Melinda said. “You’re here. You waited.”

“I didn’t want you to wake up alone,” he said, closing his eyes again with a content little sigh and a smile.

Melinda was quiet, watching him for a few minutes.

“No,” she said. “I don’t think I’m ever going to again.”

His eyes lit up and she resisted the urge to shiver. How could she not have seen it? He looked at her like he could find the universe in her eyes.

“No, you saw,” he told her, cupping her cheek and smiling like he knew just what she meant. “You knew what all this meant, Melinda.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Melinda said stiffly. Ward actually laughed, though it made him cringe immediately after.

“You knew,” he murmured as she helped him into the tight confines of the bed, letting him cuddle beside her and lay his arm over her chest. “You knew, Melinda. And that’s what scared you, wasn’t it?”

She said nothing for a minute as she looked at him, lying beside her with his neck tilted back, soft and vulnerable, his head snuggled against her neck, her hair trailing over his cheek.

“I have nothing to be afraid of,” was all she said as she laid beside him. Ward smiled into her skin and pressed a little kiss into it.

“Nope,” he murmured. “Gonna keep you safe, Melinda. Always and always.”

“Forever,” she promised, pulling him close so their legs entwined and she could feel his arms around her.

It could’ve meant anything, forever. But they both knew it meant everything.

A few minutes after the two had fallen asleep, Skye, Leo, and Jemma poked their heads in, curious.

“Melinda? Grant? Are you all right, dears?” Jemma whispered before she caught sight of them on the bed. She smiled as Skye and Leo looked away, shy. “Oh, they’re so precious…”

“We’ll come back later,” Skye said, pushing the scientists out and shutting the door quietly. “Precious gets dangerous pretty fast when you interrupt a moment like that.”

Still, she was smiling as she herded the two of them back into the main room. Phil sat relaxing in his armchair, a book open on his lap and his phone beside him.

“So they’re all right?” he asked.

“Better than all right,” Skye said, grinning. “They’re back together.”

She looked him over, head cocked and eyes full of concern. “How ‘bout you, AC? The Avengers all right?”

“Better than all right,” Phil replied with a smile. “They’ve missed me.”

He sighed and settled into his chair with a yawn. “Movie and leftovers tonight?”

“Sure, dad,” Fitz teased as he got up to reheat what was in the fridge.

“Don’t sass me, or so help me I’ll ground you faster than you could re-program this plane,” Phil warned. Skye and Jemma laughed, settling in on either side of him as Skye picked up the remote and snuggled into the couch.

Fitz came back in with a huge tray of food and a bottle of soda, setting it down in front of the armchair and throwing a blanket over Skye, then Jemma.

He prepared them plates and passed everything around before, finally, Skye turned on the television and spent the next hour channel-surfing until they found something they all wanted to watch.

…

Ward awoke to sunlight streaming in through the window and winced.

“What time is it?” he grumbled, laying his head on Melinda’s shoulder.

“Eight in the morning,” she said, checking the clock with a grimace. “Must’ve slept through the night.”

“Probably, yeah,” Ward said. “Still worn out?”

“I’m fine,” she said, before she caught the look on his face.

She sighed and shrugged. “Well. I suppose we could go somewhere else. Somewhere more comfortable. Get a few more hours in. You’re in no shape to train, anyway.”

Ward beamed, lifting her up as carefully as he could, getting out of bed as he carried her off. He walked down the hallway with Melinda in his arms and pride pouring off of his bearing when he held her close and she laid her head on his shoulder.

He opened the door to her room and laid her down on her bed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. He spied the tiger on her bed and smiled.

“He take good care of you?” he asked, gesturing to the little toy. Melinda gave him a look.

“I don’t need to be taken care of,” she said. Ward wilted and she smiled. “But personally? I thought you would’ve done a better job.”

She patted the bed as she kicked off her pants, settling in on the bed in a tee shirt and her underwear before pulling on a pair of pajama pants. “Prove me right?”

He stripped down to pajama pants of his own and a tee shirt in about five seconds, climbing into bed next to her and beaming.

“A little more sleep,” he murmured, stroking her hair. “Then I’m going to take care of you, Melinda. Promise.”

“You know you don’t have to,” she said, taking his hands and holding them close as he curled closer around her, tucking her head under his chin and pressing a kiss into her hair. “Ward, I’m perfectly capable—“

“You are,” he murmured. “You’re so brilliant. So dangerous and clever and fantastic. And so pretty. The prettiest girl in the whole world.”

He ran his hands down her sides and smiled. “How could I ever want anyone else?”

“Easy,” she said, before he cupped her cheeks and silenced her protests with a kiss.

“Ssh,” he murmured as he pulled away. “Sorry. I’d never interrupt you normally. That’d be rude. But—but Melinda. You’re the most perfect woman for me. The most perfect thing in my life.”

He ruffled her hair and smiled. “So get some sleep, okay?”

“I will,” she promised. “And—and I can’t believe I’m the one asking this…but what are we going to do when we wake up?”

“Hopefully, kiss some,” Ward said. She smacked him with a pillow and he laughed, kissing the tip of her nose and smiling.

“Okay,” he said. “A little more than some.”

He held her close and rubbed her back, winding his legs in hers. “You know what we’re gonna do? I’m going to tell you I love you until you can’t stand it anymore. Even if I don’t hear it back, you know what, Melinda? You can’t lie to me anymore. I know you too well for that. And yeah, I know you love me. So I think I’m gonna kiss you and stroke your hair and treat you like a queen for a little while, so you know what you mean to me. And that way, there’s no room for doubt between either of us anymore.”

He looked up at her, eyebrows raised. “Sound good? Because…that’s all I’ve got, Melinda. The only thing I can think of to keep you close.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” she promised, her throat tight. “Grant, I’m so—“

“Ssh,” he murmured, kissing her neck. “Nothing to apologize for. I know. It’s been rough for you too, huh?”

She nodded wordlessly and clung to him so tight her hands shook. Ward smiled and kissed her forehead. “Then there’s no need to apologize. You hurt yourself. Why wouldn’t I want to fix you?”

“Idiot,” she said, her eyes burning. “You were hurt too…”

“You fixed me,” he said simply, kissing her one more time before he closed his eyes and settled in with a content little sigh.

She curled closer so she could listen to his heartbeat as she drifted off, entirely silent. Her hands wound with his and she found his pulse beating in his thumb, slow and steady and constant.

“You weren’t broken,” she promised him, making him smile in his sleep. She smiled and shook her head, burying her face into his neck and breathing in the scent of him one last time before she drifted off.

The only fire in her dreams was the one beneath her veins as his hands found her body, even in sleep.

…

Ward awoke with a content sigh and looked around, finding the alarm clock and cringing. Two in the afternoon. They must be handling the labwork with the drugs now; there was no other way they’d be allowed to stay in bed for so long.

“You sure we shouldn’t be working?” he mumbled, making Melinda stir beside him and survey him with a sigh, shaking her head.

“You got hurt,” Melinda admonished him. “Christ, you got shot—“

She stopped midsentence, recalling the hazy, half-drugged conversation they’d had before as he cocked his head and regarded her.

Shot. _Shot._ Grant had been _shot._ For _her._

She sat upright, swearing violently as she threw the blankets off them both and running her hands over his chest.

“ _You idiot!”_ she yelled at the top of her lungs, not realizing he’d flinched as she ran shaking hands over his stomach. “ _You got shot!”_

“Please don’t yell at me,” Ward said, his voice tiny and tight with panic.

She paused, lifted her hands off of his chest, and pulled him into an embrace, pulling him into her lap and stroking his hair.

“Oh Grant, no, ssh, I’m so sorry,” she murmured, squeezing his hands and holding him close. “I didn’t mean to shout, I just panicked, I didn’t even think to look you over myself after all this, oh god—god almighty Grant, _where are the wounds—“_

“It’s all right,” he told her, stroking her hair. “Ssh, it’s okay. Phil had to stitch you up too, so I made him put me down next to you while Jemmy took the bullet out. It wasn’t so bad. I could see you for most of it. Well, uh, until they sedated me. It got a little fuzzy after that. But I could see you getting stitched up, so I knew you were safe.”

“And you still sat there?” Melinda said, staring at him. “I was just _sleeping_ , Grant, for Christ’s sake you’d been _shot—“_

“I made Jemma give me local anesthetic,” Ward said. “That way I wouldn’t be out for so long. I mean, um…I fell asleep anyway. But I did it close to you, so I knew if there was a problem, I’d be there right away.”

Melinda continued to stare at him. “Local anesthetic. For a bullet wound.”

Ward shrugged and shook his head, looking away.

“It hurt. But it was okay. I’ve hurt before. I have. I don’t mind. I told her to wait, but she said they were bullets, and if I didn’t get them fixed right now, she was going to shoot me again,” he explained.

Melinda cupped his cheeks and shook her head. “Ward.”

“It’s all right,” he promised her. “S’no big deal. Honest. I’ve hurt before. I used to hurt all the time. Then, um, I came here. And you took care of me.”

He smiled and laid his head on her shoulder, grinning into her skin. “You saved me, Melinda. You really did. So it’s okay.”

She shook her head and held him close, trying to stop her heart from beating fast and hard enough to bruise her ribs.

“They call me the Cavalry for a reason,” she murmured, smiling when he laughed into her neck and made her shiver.

“You saved me,” he promised her, taking her hand. “All I did last night was return the favor.”

She kissed him then, and if the tears mingling between them were hers, he didn’t say. He just let her hold him close on her lap and stroked her sides as she held onto him.

“Can you return the favor a little more safely next time?” she asked him with a little grumble. Ward beamed.

“I can return the favor right now,” he teased, kissing her neck. “No one’s gonna bother us today. They wouldn’t dare. I got shot and you got dosed with a ton of sedatives. We have an off day, promise.”

He cupped her bottom and squeezed, a little grin on his face. “Make the most of it, yeah?”

“You’re atrocious,” she grumbled, making him smile and nuzzle her cheek. “Brat. Flirting will get you nowhere.”

“Oh, I don’t want to flirt,” he said, picking her up and pulling her close so she could straddle him as he pressed kisses across the sharp line of her jaw. “I love you. I want to tell you that until I forget how to say anything else.”

He smiled. “Except maybe your name.”

She laughed, ruffling his hair and letting him stroke her side, head cocked. “How do you want to…”

“If you’re all right with it,” he said, his voice quiet as he drummed his fingers idly on her hip, “I want you to ride me. I mean, if you’re not too hurt?”

“You know _, you’re_ the one that got shot, not me,” she said, stroking his cheek. “I’d love to ride you, Grant. Anything you’d like.”

“All I want is to make you feel good,” he said with a smile. “Please just let me make you feel good, okay?”

“Okay,” she said, smoothing his hair back. “If you’re so sure.”

“I am, I am,” he said, sitting up a bit and making her slide back down onto his lap. She rubbed herself against him and smiled when she felt his cock stiffen.

“Then get me naked first,” she said.

Ward nodded, and sat up entirely, squirming out from underneath her so he could sit up and take off her shirt first, tossing it aside. His fingers went to the hooks of her bra, undoing them with quick, practiced ease, tossing it aside and cupping her breasts in his hands.

“You’re so pretty,” he said, his voice warm and fond. “The prettiest girl I know. In the whole world, even.”

“I’m not a girl anymore,” she said, her voice softer than she’d intended. Ward shrugged, leaning down to press a little kiss onto her nipple.

“You’re my girl,” he said, giving her a smile. She was about to roll her eyes when their gazes met and she saw how earnest he was, laying his head on her shoulder so he could press kisses into the scars he found there.

“I must be at least five years your senior,” she said as he went for her pants, undoing the buttons and pulling them down, kissing her legs as they were bared to him.

“Doesn’t matter,” Ward said firmly. “Being my girl just means you’re mine and you’re pretty. I love you, Melinda. I love you more than anything or anyone else in the world. So you’re my girl.”

He smiled and kissed the tips of her toes when he’d rid her of her pants entirely, crawling back up to straddle her and put his hands gently on her sides. “That, or my pretty lady, or my beautiful woman, or—“

“I get it, I get it,” Melinda said with a laugh, taking one of his hands and pressing it to her lips to kiss his knuckles. “My handsome man. All mine.”

“All yours,” Ward confirmed with a nod and a nuzzle of her neck. “Melinda? Can I take off your panties yet?”

“You haven’t even taken off your own clothes,” she said with a brow raise. Ward huffed.

“Okay, okay,” he said, going for his shirt.

Before he could, her hands were on his waist, pulling his shirt up and over his head before tossing it aside to hit the floor with a soft thump. Ward beamed, flexing his back and tossing his head back to bare his neck to Melinda, who bit it lightly and marked the skin in response. Ward smiled as she ran her fingers through his hair, holding him steady as she worked a bright red hickey into his neck.

“Everyone’s gonna notice tomorrow,” Ward said with a little laugh as she kissed his collarbone, spreading the bright red marks. Melinda snorted.

“Good,” she murmured, her hands moving down his chest. She stopped for a second at the stitches over his bullet wound, still stark and steely, black and bristling.

“I’m okay,” he promised her. “Melinda, I’m alive. I love you. I’m alive. I’m right here. I love you so much. It’s all going to be okay, Melinda. I’m not going anywhere.”

Melinda blinked only to find her eyes were burning.

“Neither am I,” she whispered, putting her hands on his hips. “Neither am I, my love, my love…”

“Your love,” Ward said, beaming. “Your love, yeah.”

She just held him tight for a second, just long enough to feel his heart beating against hers before she pressed a kiss to his forehead and helped him out of his pants as he kicked his socks off and settled in on her chest with a content little grin.

“Melinda?” he murmured, tracing an idle little heart over her collarbone. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she said, and paused for a second just to watch him _melt._

He beamed, nuzzling her neck and laughing, pure exuberance making him grin and giggle as he pressed kisses into her chest and trailed them down to her breasts, licking each one before holding them gently as he continued to kiss down her stomach, his hands sliding down her sides and making her squirm before he finally reached her soft, plain black panties and nuzzled them, pressing a kiss into them and looking up at her, eyebrows raised.

“I love you,” he said. “Can I, please?”

“Go right ahead,” she said, stroking his hair. “I love you too, Grant.”

He beamed again, dazzling and warm as he stroked her hips with long, loving caresses, tracing little waves into her skin as he hooked his fingers into her panties and pulled them down as quickly as he possibly could, just enough to fit himself between her thighs with no trouble so he could kiss the soft curls between her legs.

Melinda rolled her eyes and smiled, kicking her panties off before putting her hand in Ward’s hair. “Grant, if you don’t want—“

“I want to,” he said firmly. “If you’ll let me, I really, _really_ want to do this.”

His face flared and he averted his gaze, leaning into her thigh and glancing aside. “I’ve missed making you come.”

Melinda smiled, stroking his hair. “Likewise.”

Grant smiled shyly and pressed a kiss into her lips, slipping his tongue inside of her and groaning in pleasure at the taste.

“I missed this,” he whispered as he pulled away enough to slip his fingers inside of her. “I’ve missed this so much, missed you…”

“I’ve missed you,” she promised. “Ward, so much, it’s all right, I’m not going anywhere…”

She trailed off with a little blissful moan as he lapped at her, quick and shallow strokes that had her squirming and sighing in pleasure. “I’m right here, I’m…”

“I’ve got you,” Ward promised, kissing her lips as he worked his fingers inside of her, rubbing lightly at the warmth surrounding him. “It’s okay, I love you, I love you…”

He was quiet after that, content to focus on what lay before him; Melinda moaned, her breath hitching and her cries soft. Ward kissed her lips and rubbed his fingers insistently along her clit to make her moan louder, her whimpers and pants bitten back every time he stroked her.

“Don’t be scared, please,” Ward said, lifting his head up to regard her. “I do like you being vocal, Melinda, I promise. I really, really want to hear you moan, so I know you’re feeling good. Please? We’re not a mission, there’s nothing to hide.”

“It’s not that,” she said with a shiver as he kissed her stomach. “I just—it’s…strange.”

“What, to have someone making you feel good?” Ward said, head cocked.

Melinda shrugged. Ward’s eyes softened and he moved, covering her body with his so he could press a kiss to the corner of her mouth, gentle and attentive.

“It’s okay,” he murmured. “S’strange for me too. I’m not used to this. But I am enjoying it, I promise you that.”

He smiled. “It’s okay. I’m not going anywhere. You’ve got plenty of time to get used to this, okay?”

“All right,” she whispered. “All right, I love you…”

“I love you too,” he said, squeezing her hand before he kissed his way back down to her cunt, burying his tongue in with a sigh of pleasure.

Melinda moaned and squirmed a little more on the bed now, panting and flexing her hips when Ward kissed her lips and rubbed his fingers along her clit, nuzzling her thigh and pressing little kisses into the soft dips of her skin, dragging his tongue along them before he felt her thighs tense and smiled.

“You feel okay, sweetheart?” he asked, rubbing his fingers across her clit before sticking them inside of her, licking around her clit in slow circles.

Melinda nodded, her moan soft and desperate before she tightened her thighs around Ward, her cries of pleasure getting louder and louder, building to a crescendo before she screamed his name loud enough to make him jump, holding tight to her as she came.

“Ah, ah—Grant, I…” she trailed off as she watched him grin, sitting up and kissing the tips of her fingers before he came to snuggle against her, kissing her neck.

“There,” he murmured, tracing her breasts and smiling. “Felt good, yeah?”

“Fantastic,” she said, grinning. “You’re not half bad, darling.”

He stuck his tongue out at her and she kissed it, cupping his cheek and pulling him in close as she rolled over to lay on top of him, slipping her tongue into his mouth and making him moan and sigh in pleasure before she sat up and leaned back to strip him of his briefs, throwing them aside with a triumphant huff as his cock was finally bared to her, hard and glistening at the tip.

“Good boy,” she murmured, leaning down to press a kiss to the head as he gasped, his face flushing.

“I, ah…mm,” he agreed, his face pink. “Ah-huh. Your good boy, Melinda. All yours.”

She smiled and got up, rifling through the drawer and tearing open a foil packet. Ward squirmed a bit as she put the condom on him, stroking his cock and smoothing it down when she was done.

“We don’t need to use these that much, do we, sweetheart?” she murmured. “Not when you like taking my cock so much.”

“Ah, well, um…guess not,” Ward agreed, hiding his face in his arm. She smiled and kissed his forehead.

“No, don’t you dare be shy about it,” she admonished him, ruffling his hair. “You’re a pretty little thing, we both know that. And I like making you take cock, Grant, I do. But, well…sometimes it’s nice to top you like this, too.”

“Mm,” he said with a little hum of agreement as she settled in on his chest. “No, I do like this. I like watching you feel good because of me. I mean, it’s just…really nice to see you get off, Melinda. You’re so pretty when you feel good. And—and I love it. I love you.”

He kissed her wrist and smiled. “Melinda? Please ride me, please?”

“Of course,” she murmured, stroking his cheek before running her hand down to his side and finally to his hips, holding him steady as she rose up, hovering over his cock for a split second. “Just hold still.”

She sank down onto him inch by inch and smiled when he gasped, his thighs shaking with the effort it took not to flex up into her and thrust. She didn’t stop until she’d taken in his entire length, settled onto his hips with a content little hum.

“You look beautiful,” he murmured, his voice soft and worshipful. “Melinda, you look gorgeous…”

“You too,” she promised him, cupping his pecs lightly and squeezing. “You too, Grant.”

He beamed, taking her hands and putting them on his chest, just above his heartbeat. She rose and fell, making him throw his head back and moan. She smiled and felt his heartbeat speed up when she did it again.

“I love you,” he murmured, “I love you, I love you, I love you…”

They established a rhythm; he said it every time their hips met, his cock warm and full within her as she moaned in pleasure. He switched languages sometimes to make her smile; when he told her he loved her in Chinese, he told her she held the moon in her eyes, too.

When she outright beamed, the widest, most genuine smile he’d ever seen on her, his endearments started to get more complex as she thrust back onto him.

“You are the light that wakes me every morning,” he told her in French. “The jewel of my heart, the gem of my life…”

She smiled so bright and wide her face ached before she leaned down to kiss him, his hips working up into her just enough to send a wave of pleasure through her body. She pulled away as he whispered to her in Arabic that she was so beautiful flowers turned away in shame and oases dried up at the sight of her face.

“You’re ridiculous,” she told him, unable to stop a little giggle from bubbling up in her throat, innocent and unbidden.

“No, ridiculous would be composing sonnets right now,” Ward said. “Sonnets come later. Afterglow and pillow talk.”

She laughed aloud and watched as he smiled, stroking her side with a single hand before he put it on her hip.

“Ridiculous is not telling you that you are the love of my soul,” he murmured in Spanish, stroking circles into her hip. “Ridiculous would be never saying that to you.”

She took his hand and kissed it, holding it close against her own heartbeat as she rode him, holding herself steady on his hips as he beamed up at her, his eyes shining with love.

“I love you too,” she promised him. “You and I are going to stay together, no matter what happens. It’s all right, I’ve got you, I’m not leaving you…”

Ward beamed and held her hands over his chest, kissing her wrists and moaning in pleasure when she thrust onto him and groaned, her thighs tensing. He moved his hands to her thighs, rubbing them gently as she slid up and down on him faster and harder, pushing him back up into the headboard. He just smiled and kissed her hands when they came up to caress his cheeks, his whole body hot with his own impending orgasm.

“Come for me, light of my life,” he murmured in Chinese when their hips met again, and with another flex of both their hips, she did. He wailed at the feeling of her cunt tightening around him, his vision going white for a split second.

When he opened his eyes again, Melinda was smiling down at him and he felt warm and wet. He winced and laughed.

“Er, did I…”

“You felt fantastic,” she soothed him, ruffling his hair. “And you called my name.”

“Well, obviously,” he said, sitting up and pulling his cock from her with a regretful little grunt as it softened. She stripped him of the condom and tied it off, tossing it in the trash before pouncing on him and covering his body with her own.

“I’m still sorry,” she murmured as she curled up beside him, stroking his hair. “I hurt you. And if I hadn’t been so stubborn about this…”

“Melinda, please don’t worry,” Ward said, kissing her cheek. “Hey, you know I understand. You’ve had a rough time of it, pretty lady. I know how hard it was to even go out with me, let alone—let alone tell me you loved me.”

He kissed her forehead. “But you know I’m grateful, Melinda. I am. Because now I know you love me. And we’re together. Why wouldn’t I be happy?”

“Because…” she trailed off with a sigh. “Does it worry you I’m not…honest with my emotions all the time?”

“Neither am I,” Ward said. “You love me, though? For real and honest to god? You’ll be here when I wake up tomorrow?”

Melinda held him close, burying her face into his chest and smiling.

“I love you,” she murmured. “For real. And I’m not going anywhere, Grant. I’m not leaving you ever again.”

“Okay,” he said with a little smile. “Then the rest is just stuff we can work out later. Right now, you’re here with me, and you’re holding me, and…and I love you so much, so much, I love you, love…”

He gave her one last sleepy smile and trailed off, “Sonnets tomorrow, okay…?”

He fell asleep on her with a soft sighing exhale, burying his face into her hair and relaxing as he slept. Melinda smiled and reached up to ruffle his hair.

“Light of my life,” she murmured as the plane shifted slightly, just enough to catch the sun and bathe his figure in gold. She kissed his forehead and laid her head on his chest.

Ward awoke later to Melinda lying in bed with a sigh and a smile of contentment, listening to the sounds of the others outside as they walked past, talking and generally being unprepared for the morning.

Ward just smiled and rolled over so Melinda could bury her face in his chest again, kissing her hair as he stroked her back.

The others could wait a little longer to see them again, he decided. He only had eyes for one lady in particular.

As if she knew, she smiled in her sleep. Ward pressed a kiss to her forehead and drifted off again. Neither of them dreamed. They had all they could ever dream of pressed against their body, warm and safe.


End file.
